Lionel Richie Was “Freaked Out” by Michael Jackson Hologram

Ron Gallela/WireImageWhile most fans and artists agree that the Michael Jacksonhologram that appeared on the Billboard Music Awards this past Sunday night was pretty amazing, one person who knew Michael well admits he was a bit “freaked out” seeing his dear, departed friend back onstage.

Speaking to Access Hollywood, Lionel Richie called the hologram, which performed the song “Slave to the Rhythm,” “freaky,” and added, “I must tell you it freaked me out because it’s Mike. I have to tell you it was brilliantly done, but it just made me a little uneasy because it was just…I keep waiting for him and then I realize that is him but it’s not him.”

“It’s a little bit over-the-top for me,” Richie added. “Let me have Mike the way I [remember him].”

Michael and Lionel famously collaborated on “We Are the World.” On Sunday night, Michael’s brother Jackie Jackson told ABC News Radio that he approved of the hologram, saying, “It was so real.”